Politicians from all sides join forces to demand new hospital for Doncaster

The cross-party call is urging the the Government to invest in a new central hospital for Doncaster.

The Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, Dan Jarvis, Doncaster’s MPs – Ed Miliband (Labour), Rosie Winterton (Labour) and Nick Fletcher (Conservative) as well as the Mayor of Doncaster Council Ros Jones have written to Mr Hancock, urging him to bring forward the investment.

The call comes after Doncaster Royal Infirmary was not included in the Government’s announcement last month, which confirmed funding for 40 hospitals as part of the Health Infrastructure Plan. This is despite leaders being led to believe that the hospital would be included in the plan.

The current Doncaster Royal Infirmary, originally built in 1930, is in need of major maintenance works worth £67m, and faces significant demand, as NHS workers treat people with the coronavirus. Prior to COVID, the A&E department which was built to manage a peak of 200-250 patients was routinely dealing with 350-400 every day.

The new Hospital will provide state-of-the-art care and be a catalyst for economic regeneration.

A bidding process for a further eight new hospitals will be brought forward, and political leaders have called on the Government to deliver on their promises to level up by ensuring Doncaster is included in the next round of schemes.

Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, Dan Jarvis, said: “It was deeply disappointing that Doncaster was not selected as one of the 40 hospitals around the country to receive investment last month. None of the hospitals announced were in South Yorkshire and just one scheme was confirmed for Yorkshire.

“As the COVID pandemic has shown us, levelling up is not just about the economy, it’s about the health of our people, and the Government has an opportunity to deliver on its promises. The case for a new central hospital in Doncaster is unequivocal, and health and political leaders in the region are united behind this plan – we now need the Secretary of State to join us.”

Rosie Winterton DBE MP for Doncaster Central, said: “Our NHS in Doncaster is doing a fantastic job under such difficult circumstances at the moment. I hope their hard work will be rewarded by a new hospital to provide much needed health care facilities for the people of Doncaster.”

Mayor Ros Jones said: “Doncaster not being on the list was not good news and I would ask the Government to tell us directly why we were not included and indeed how we can improve our chances of securing investment in a new hospital in the future. I do want to see more investment and levelling up of Doncaster and the North. Our case is strong as this project would support our regeneration aspirations and should not be overlooked.”